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WORD GRAMMAR
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Verb
- Conjugation in indicative
- Person and number
- Tenses
- Voice
- Mood
- Verb categories
- Valency
- Semantic categories of verbs
- Finite / non-finite verb forms
- Noun
- Adjective
- Adverb
- Article
- Pronoun
- Preposition
- Conjunction
- Particle
- Interjection
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Verb
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SENTENCE GRAMMAR
- Clause types
- Complex clauses
- Constituents of a sentence
- Sentence structure
- Word order in a sentence
- Negation
Article use
GA1
The use of the definite, the indefinite and the zero articles
As a general rule, the definite article accompanies a noun that is, as indicated by the context, known and the indefinite article accompanies a noun that is, as indicated by the context, unknown. The zero article is used in various and diverse ways.
Definite article
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A noun is indicated as known by the context when:
1. it is unique |
2. it is clearly referred to |
3. it has been previously mentioned |
Indefinite article
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A noun is indicated as unknown by the context when:
1. it is an indefinite representative of a class of things |
Zero article
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The zero article is used in various and diverse ways:
1.in plural, if the indefinite article has a singular number |
2. as a representative of a class of things in plural |
3. in singular, when it indicates the material something is made of or with collective nouns |
4. with abstract ideas |
5. with temporal noun phrases without a preposition |
6. with noun phrases of quantity |
7. with proper names |